Hi everybody! I'm super super sorry that it has taken me so long to update! This story is already mapped out, so I promise I'll update this one sooner than the others from now on! Now, to answer some questions.
Oh, almost forgot, thanks to my super incredible beta, toughcooki19 (you are not dumb)!
iyasunflower- Uhh…what on Earth are you speaking of? I didn't forget her name! Okay, maybe I did! LOL. Sorry guys, I forgot to check what I named Logan's fiancé at first, so I corrected it later. Oh, and Rory is not a habitual user. She just uses when she is stressed or whatever.
mrmp- Sorry but I don't plan on including Lorelai in this story. If you guys want me to, I will give her a tiny tiny role. Also, as you will see, Rory is still a Gilmore. They are around 23 or 24. I figure that is a good age since they would still be young but not too immature.
Now, on to the story!
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A few hours later, both Rory and Logan had awoken. They were lying next to each other trying to figure out what to say when Rory spoke.
"Why did you stay?" She questioned, in a voice full of false strength.
Logan placed his gaze directly on Rory and he knew it was time to lay it all on the line. "I couldn't leave. I couldn't pretend that I don't love you Rory." Logan said quietly. "How could I go? I mean…I love you more than I ever thought possible." He stated quietly.
Rory tried to avert her gaze, but Logan wouldn't allow it. He placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. He dropped them slowly after their eyes connected and he knew she was paying attention.
"Rory, I need to know how you feel. I love you, but I can't stay in this relationship." He said with a look of sadness.
A slight hint of fear crossed Rory's face when he made his declaration, and Logan hurried to explain. "I can't be in an open relationship with you. I love you, and it tears me apart to see you flirt with other guys in the club. I know that you're scared but you and I both know that this isn't working. We both have too much invested in this relationship for it to be some fling." He said with a voice full of emotion as he thought of everything that they had been through: the arguments, the bliss, everything. "If you tell me right now that we…that this is temporary then...I'm sorry. I can't be with you. It's all or nothing."
Rory looked into Logan's eyes for the first time during his speech. She saw the sadness and the hope. She knew that this time…this time she could crush him, but if she did, she would destroy herself in the process. She took a deep breath as she did something she had never done before. She trusted someone not to break her heart.
"You aren't what I want Logan," Rory explained meekly as Logan grimaced, "you're what I need. I don't think that I could live knowing that I hurt you, and that scares the hell out of me," she paused for a moment to look into Logan's eyes. "But what scares me even more is that, for the first time in my life, I want to be with someone, totally and completely."
Rory ended her speech as Logan stared at her in disbelief. What had she just said? What was going on? Where did they stand?
However, before he was able to ask any of these questions, Rory cut his thoughts off with a passionate kiss. "Congratulations Mr. Huntzberger, you're now my property." She whispered with a seductive grin.
Logan smirked before lowering his mouth to hers. In a few hours they could deal with the questions. For now, however, it was just the two of them.
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By three, Logan was on the way to his house. He was grinning like a madman when his driver decided to ask him if he was okay.
Logan then realized that he hadn't smiled for such an amazingly long time. That was how he knew that what he was doing was right, he was truly happy.
As his limo pulled up to the vast brick house where his 'fiancé' lived, Logan's smile faltered. Her car was there, which meant that the moment he opened the door he was going to be bombarded with questions about the wedding and the reception. It made him sick. He hesitated before going inside.
Just as he expected, there was Jessica by the door with the guest list. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.
"Logan, what do you think of midgets and swans for the reception? Oh, and do you really think we should invite those horrible friends of yours? I mean, honestly, won't they just ruin the wedding?" She asked impatiently.
Logan held his tongue and decided to just ignore her. He walked straight upstairs and began gathering his necessities. He had decided that he was going to stay with Colin or Robert until he could find a place of his own. Now that he was with Rory completely, he refused to be with Jessica any longer. He didn't care what his family thought because, at the end of the day, his life was miserable without Rory in it. He wanted to break down her walls. He wanted her to learn to love. He wanted her to be his, and now she was. No one could take that away from him, not even his family.
While Logan was processing everything, Jessica was waiting impatiently for him to respond to her inquiry.
"Logan, how dare you ignore me?" Questioned his now previous fiancé. "I mean, I don't care if you go out in the middle of the night and come back in the afternoon. I don't care if you fly to fucking Peru as long as yo-," she whispered harshly, but Logan cut her off.
"As long as I what?" Logan asked angrily. "As long as I send you a couple thousand dollars, or as long as I attend your fucking DAR parties, maybe? We both know you hate me Jessica, so why in the hell are you still here?"
Logan knew that his rant had gone too far as soon as he looked at the girl across from him. Her face was red with anger, and when she spoke, it was with venom in her voice.
"You think I enjoy this Logan? Do you honestly think that I enjoy being little miss trophy wife to the great Logan Huntzberger?" She inquired furiously. "Do you even know what it's like to have to listen to the girls at the club talk about how your fiancé is the best fuck for miles?" She persisted crudely. "I had dreams Logan. I had aspirations. I had a boyfriend who actually loved me." She continued with a look of surprise from Logan. "That's right, dear. I had someone who wanted to be with me and only me, but as soon as your fucking parents called mine I was obligated to marry you. I had to give up school to start making friends with the stupid women at the DAR. I had to give up Josh…" she wandered off as sobs racked her body.
Logan simply stood there with no idea of what to do. He had barely spoken to the girl the entire time he had known her, let alone had a true conversation with her, so he did the only thing he could think to do; he comforted the broken girl lying in front of him. Jessica cried for the cold life she had led and the love she lost.
Logan cried for his past.
Maybe now they could both move on.
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While Logan was with Jessica, Rory was walking the streets of New Haven in search of her friends. The only group of people that Rory had ever felt any connection with was the group of girls that worked at the club. While they fought for attention during the night, they had no one else during the day.
As she spotted them, the smallest hint of a smile graced her features. Madeline, Louise, Antonia, and Carmen sat at a small booth in front of New Haven's most exclusive restaurant. It just happened to be owned by one of Louise's many personal clients.
"Look who the cat dragged in," said a calm voice. Rory smirked at the blond who sat filing her nails.
"Speaking of feline temperament, how's prostitution working out for ya?" Rory questioned with a full blown grin.
"Always the bitch Gilmore."
"Always the slut Grant."
With that, the two girls hugged quickly. They were the closest of the group since they had known each other the longest.
Rory and Louise had been placed in the same orphanage as children. They had grown rather fond of each other when they were kids, always helping each other and thinking alike.
When the two girls wanted to find their parents, they snuck into the shelter's records together. They found their last names but were unable to find the names or addresses of any relatives. They soon became each others' family.
They had been kicked out of the shelter at eighteen and had nowhere to go. Both girls had tried to get jobs, but with no steady home, they were considered 'unreliable.' Eventually, Louise had been approached by John. He was a suave gentleman who turned out to be the owner of a strip club in downtown New Haven. After a bit of persuasion from John, both Louise and Rory had started stripping.
Madeline was also a teenager when the two girls met her. She had been homeless when Rory and Louise started working, so they introduced her to John. She scrubbed dishes for a few months before John decided she was ready to get on stage. She was a bit shy at first, but she soon grew to love the attention.
Antonia had been stripping for three or four years when Rory, Louise, and Madeline started working for John. She had always been jealous of how easily Rory and Louise fit into the club, but she now respected them more than anyone thought possible. The girls had saved her from a very bad confrontation with their dealer.
She met Carmen, and soon introduced her to the group of girls. The beautiful blonde was five years older than the others and had a child. She had been raped while in high school and was kicked out of her family's home. She started to strip after this, and she also started to form a close bond with the girls after she shared her story.
The girls formed a strange bond. They cared for each other, but they could never completely put down their defenses. They were rude and guarded, but what else could be expected of girls that had lived such harsh lives?
"Hey Rory," Madeline said sweetly. She was as adorable as she was naïve. Madeline was the only girl in the group who really relied upon the friendships she made in the club to help her through hard times. The other girls were more independent.
"Hey Mads. Hey Carmen, how's Angie?" Rory asked curiously.
"She's fine. She's starting first grade soon," Carmen replied proudly. The little girl was the light of Carmen's life and made all that she had to do worth it.
As the girls continued to talk, the conversation fell upon Logan. Rory had anticipated this and managed to fend off the girls by giving them only a tad bit of information.
"So, is he good?" Antonia asked with a devilish grin.
"He's…different," Rory stated at a loss for what to say. "But don't even try it Nia. He's mine," she added for good measure.
"Come one Ror. You've never had a problem with sharing before," Antonia said with annoyance.
"Nia, if she doesn't wanna share then she doesn't wanna share. Back off." Louis stated resolutely.
Rory sent Louise a grateful smile before switching topics.
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Once the girls had finished their lunch, Rory headed back home. She wasn't working until eleven which gave her plenty of time to head home and take a relaxing bath.
As she entered her apartment however, she found a strange surprise.
Sitting on her table was a bouquet of black roses. As she moved closer, she saw that they were actually deep red roses littered with thorns.
She turned around, and that is when she noticed him staring at her.
"Roses are one of the most wonderful and beautiful things,
They are the true material form of love.
Allow me to explain:
They are delicate and gentle,
Frail yet tough,
Like love, they can be damaged,
But they always know how to protect themselves.
Love may sting sometimes, like the thorns on a rose,
But whether dead or alive, roses, like love, stay beautiful forever." Logan recited as he placed his hands upon Rory's hips and backed her into a wall.
Rory had never once wanted a man so much in her life. When she spoke, she voiced the thought that immediately cam to her mind when she walked in.
"What are you…why are you doing this?" She asked in a lost whisper.
Logan pulled her to him and rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you," he stated plainly, "that's all the reason I need."
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So, what did ya think? Please review! Please, pretty please, with a Maraschino cherry, hot fudge, and sprinkles on top! I'll update sooner! Oh, and I stole the poem from a girl named Nina. She wrote it and posted it on a website called 'Love Blender,' but the link won't post. Anywho, I just thought it fit!
